Analysis Topic: Commodity Markets - Metals, Softs & Oils
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Friday, November 19, 2021
Investors Expect High Inflation. Golden Inquisition Ahead? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Inflation expectations reached a record high. Is gold preparing a counterattack to punish gold bears?In a classic Monty Python sketch, nobody expects the Spanish inquisition. In the current marketplace, everyone expects high inflation. As the chart below shows, the inflation expectations embedded in US Treasury yields have recently risen to the highest level since the series began in 2003.
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Thursday, November 18, 2021
Biden Signs a Bill to Revive Infrastructure… and Gold! / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Gold rallied thanks to the changed narrative on inflation, and Biden’s infrastructure plan can only add to the inflationary pressure. Huge price moves ahead?I have a short quiz for you! What the government should do to decrease inflation that reached the highest level in 30 years?
A) Decrease its expenditure to make room for the Fed to hike the federal funds rate.
B) Press the US central bank to tighten its monetary policy.
C) Deregulate the markets and lower taxes to boost the supply side of the economy.
D) Introduce a huge infrastructure plan that will multiply spending on energy, raw materials, and inputs in general.
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Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Silver vs US Dollar / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
One would expect an inverse relationship between the US Dollar and Silver. The below chart shows periods when the dollar has been falling (USD Index) in RED and rising in blue, during which time there does tend to be a tendency for Silver price to exhibit an inverse relationship to varying degree.
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Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Silver Supply and Demand Balance / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
So if Silver is closer to being an industrial commodity then a precious metal then one should look at supply and industrial demand for Silver for signs and portents of what the price may do.
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Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Are gold prices really bottoming? That all depends on the indicator / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Holding gold has largely been about a hedge for inflation, weak US dollar or a store of safety during times of trouble. At present, it is the inflationary pressures that is the main driving force for the yellow metal.
Inflationary pressures are building around the world as the global economy tries to reopen. Consumer prices are sharply rising with the US Inflation rate posting a three-decade high of 6.2% in October and Germany hitting 4.5%, the highest level since 1993.
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Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Gold Stocks technically short-term bullish, but… / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2021
An update of the gold stock bounce
As a TA, I respect charts first and foremost. On occasion that respect has burned me as I’ve missed big profit opportunity or not seen a disaster unfolding that the charts missed. But much more often it helps me profit or saves me from disastrous ends. TA is just one tool in the box. An important one, but it should not stand alone. With the gold stocks especially, the correct macro-fundamentals matter.
Lately, with respect to the HUI Gold Bugs index, TA has helped me (and NFTRH subscribers) manage a low born of over-bearish sentiment at a key long-term support area (230 ), one of three downside targets we’ve had open since the correction began in summer 2020. For management of the correction and its bounces we’ve used various charts of varying detail and time frames. But last week in NFTRH 680 we simplified to the daily view below. With the rally now in full flight it is time to be paying attention to what may come next.
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Monday, November 15, 2021
Gold’s run shows interest rate hikes not coming soon / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Gold continued to rally on Tuesday, as investors and metal traders priced in expectations that central banks will keep interest rates low until late 2022 at the earliest.
At time of writing spot gold and gold futures were both changing hands at about USD$1,833/oz.
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Sunday, November 14, 2021
Gold Price Trend Implications for Silver / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Clearly at times of market panic investors rush to Gold and then eventually once the dust settles soon realise in comparison Silver is cheap and thus plays catchup, usually swinging from cheap to expensive against Gold. So allowing for a delayed reaction there does exist a strong correlation between the Gold price and Silver. In terms of trend both Gold and Silver appear to be correcting their 2020 bull runs so should resolve upwards once the correction ends.
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Sunday, November 14, 2021
Silver Previous Trend Forecast Recap / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
My last in-depth Silver analysis:
29th Jan 2020 - Silver Price Trend Forecast 2020
Initially I am expecting a very volatile trading range between a low of $16.50 to a high of $19 for the next 3 months or so, following which the Silver price 'should' respond to a Gold price rally and follow the yellow metal higher. The trends not going to be pretty but I expect Silver to trade above $20, and likely reach a peak near $21 later in the year as the forecast graph illustrates.
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Sunday, November 14, 2021
Inflation to the Moon - Gold Wears a Space Suit! / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Inflation rears its ugly head, surging at the fastest pace since 1990. The yellow metal has finally reacted as befits an inflation hedge: went up.Do you know what ambivalence is? It is a state of having two opposing feelings at the same time –this is exactly how I feel now. Why? Well, the latest BLS report on inflation shows that consumer inflation surged in October, which is something I hate because it lowers the purchasing power of money, deteriorating the financial situation of most people, especially the poorest and the least educated who don’t know how to protect against rising prices.
On the other hand, I feel satisfaction, as it turned out that I was right in claiming that high inflation would be more persistent than the pundits claimed. After the September report on inflation, I wrote: “I’m afraid that consumer inflation could increase even further in the near future”. Sieron vs. Powell: 1:0!
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Sunday, November 14, 2021
Gold Price Reaches 15-Month Flag Apex / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Since the start of the COVID-19 virus event, Gold has rallied more than +26% to reach highs near $2090 on August 7, 2020. Yet, over the past 15 months, Gold has been trailing downward in a sideways price pattern. This price rotation has set up a very broad Pennant/Flag formation in Gold that has recently reached the APEX of the Flag setup.
This is very important for two reasons. First, as the global central banks begin to plan and prepare for more normalized monetary policy, and address credit excesses and inflationary price concerns, the advantages of Gold as a hedging instrument become more valuable. Secondarily, after a massive rise in asset prices and an even bigger global attempt to stimulate the economy after the COVID-19 virus event, the world has never been in this scenario. Near-zero interest rates, excessive amounts of money and credit throughout the world, asset prices showing near hyper-inflation trends, and the global central banks taking very little action to address any future economic concerns.
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Friday, November 12, 2021
How Strange! Gold Rises on Strong Payrolls! / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
US economy added 531,000 jobs in October, surpassing expectations. Gold reacted… in a bullish way, and jumped above $1,800!The October nonfarm payrolls came surprisingly strong. As the chart below shows, the US labor market added 531,000 jobs last month, much above the expectations (MarketWatch’s analysts forecasted 450,000 added jobs). So, it’s a nice change from the last two disappointing reports. What’s more, the August and September numbers were significantly revised up – by 235,000 combined. Let’s keep in mind that we also have the additions of 1,091,000 in July and 366,000 in August (after an upward revision).
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Thursday, November 11, 2021
Gold Breakout Confirmed... Almost / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Gold finished solidly above the $1,800/oz level on Friday, marking the yellow metal’s best weekly close since late August. More importantly, gold may be breaking out of a larger consolidation pattern that has been in force since prices peaked in August of last year.
Prices edged above the descending triangle line – although perhaps not convincingly so.
If the breakout is real, then we should see a follow-through advance this week to confirm it.
Interpreting chart patterns is more of an art than a science. Any given technical setup, whether bullish or bearish in appearance, can fail.
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Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Calling the Precious Metals Bull / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
S&P 500 paused to a degree, but bonds didn‘t – we‘re far from a peak. That though doesn‘t mean a brief correction (having a proper look at the chart, sideways consolidation not reaching more than a precious couple of percentage points down) won‘t arrive still this month. It‘s a question of time, and I think it would be driven by tech weakness as the sector has reached lofty levels. It‘ll go higher still, but this is the time for value and smallcaps.
And when the dollar starts rolling over to the downside (I‘m looking at the early Dec debt ceiling drama to trigger it off), emerging markets would love that. And commodities with precious metals too, of course – sensing the upcoming greenback weakness has been part and parcel of the gold and silver resilience of late. Precious metals are only getting started, but the greatest fireworks would come early spring 2022 when the Fed‘s failure to act on inflation becomes broadly acknowledged.
For now, they‘re still getting away with the transitory talking points, and chalking it down to supply chain issues. As if these could solve the balance sheet expansion or fresh (most probably again short-dated) Treasuries issuance (come Dec) – the Fed is also way behind other central banks in raising rates. Canada, Mexico and many others have already moved while UK and Australia are signalling readiness – the U.S. central bank is joined by ECB in hesitating.
Friday, November 05, 2021
Gold, Silver, and Miners Just Can’t Jump / Commodities / Gold and Silver Stocks 2021
Let’s face it, the metals are not having an easy time breaking out. Short-term rallies end up going nowhere and bearish signs are still in abundance.
Yesterday’s session was once again quite informative, and so is today’s pre-market trading. In yesterday’s analysis, I emphasized the importance of the relative weakness that we just saw in mining stocks, so let’s start with taking a look at what mining stocks did yesterday.
Friday, November 05, 2021
Where is Crude Oil Price Headed? / Commodities / Crude Oil
With the OPEC+ meeting on Thursday, oil looks to be in a corrective phase, as pressure is on for more crude. Are we looking at bearish winds ahead?
Crude oil prices have started their corrective wave, as we are approaching the monthly OPEC+ group meeting on Thursday, with some market participants now considering the eventuality of a larger-than-expected rise in production.
Thursday, November 04, 2021
Global Precious Metals Market Dirty Tricks for Beginners / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
Although precious metals are still relatively under-owned and unloved, retail investors have been pouring into the metals markets since early last year.
Lots of newer investors have high hopes about where prices are headed in the near term. Even seasoned metals investors are optimistic about the current set-up for higher prices.
The difference is that seasoned investors also know they may not get what they expect.
When it comes to the metals markets, fundamentals don’t always matter in the short run. Successful bullion investing is about persevering when the market does the opposite of what you anticipate, and that happens a lot.
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Thursday, November 04, 2021
What Does November Hold for the Gold Miners? / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
As a new month begins, the downtrend in the GDX and GDXJ should resume. When will a new buying opportunity finally present itself?
Let’s compare the behavior of the GDX ETF and the GDXJ ETF. Regarding the former, the GDX ETF reversed sharply after reaching its 200-day moving average and a confluence of bearish indicators signaled a similar outcome. For context, I wrote on Oct. 25:
Small breakout mirrors what we witnessed during the senior miners’ downtrend in late 2020/early 2021. Moreover, when the GDX ETF’s RSI (Relative Strength Index) approached 70 (overbought conditions) back then, the highs were in (or near) and sharp reversals followed.
Furthermore, after a sharp intraday reversal materialized on Oct. 22, the about-face is similar to the major reversal that we witnessed in early August. On top of that, with the GDX ETF’s stochastic indicator also screaming overbought conditions, the senior miners are likely to move lower sooner rather than later.
Wednesday, November 03, 2021
Worried Foreign Central Banks Boost Gold Reserves / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
After sitting on the sidelines for much of last year, central bank appetite for gold has resumed, in part due to inflationary pressures globally along with disruptions in the energy market.
Russia recently reached a milestone record for its gold reserves, now ranking fifth in the world for the size of its holdings.
Russia now holds well over 20% of its reserves in gold! This represents nearly 2,300 tons of gold now held by the totalitarian nation, and that figure is likely to increase substantially in the years ahead.
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Sunday, October 31, 2021
The Bank of Canada Ends QE, Plunging Gold Prices in CAD / Commodities / Gold and Silver 2021
So, QE ended (so far in Canada, but the Fed will follow suit) and the termination plunged gold prices in Canadian dollars. Will this repeat globally?
Finally! Yesterday (October 27, 2021), one central bank ended its quantitative easing program after gradually reducing the pace of asset purchases earlier this year. Don’t panic though - it wasn’t the Fed, nor the ECB, nor the Bank of Japan. It was the Bank of Canada. As we can read in the monetary policy statement:
In light of the progress made in the economic recovery, the Governing Council has decided to end quantitative easing and keep its overall holdings of Government of Canada bonds roughly constant.