Trading Cocoa: Price Survives A Forecast of Surplus – Consolidation Likely Ahead

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 5, 2017. Click here to read the entire piece.) The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) recently released its monthly market report for February. February was of course the month of an accelerated price decline for cocoa. Cocoa hit, and retested, a … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Hold Positions Even As Backdrops Shift

In my last posts on the euro (FXE), the Canadian dollar (FXC), and the British pound (FXB), I noted significant trading moves by speculators in foreign exchange as reported by the CFTC’s Commitments of Traders (CoT). The latest CFTC CoT report shows more of the same for these currencies but the backdrops may be shifting … Read more

Forex Critical – A Temporary Boost for the British Pound from A Hot Inflation Read

The Bank of England (BoE) has not raised interest rates since the Great Financial Crisis. During this time, there have been several inflation “scares” as inflation levitated well above the Bank’s 2% target. Through it all, the BoE stood resolute in choosing to see through the elevated inflation in order to avoid premature rate hikes … Read more

Above the 40 (March 10, 2017) – A Stock Market Redressing Itself for A Meeting with the Fed

AT40 = 42.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 59.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.7 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The February U.S. jobs report catalyzed the next swing in the stock market’s bear-bull knife fight. I noted in my … Read more

U.S. Dollar Weakness Dominating the Canadian Dollar Trade

The U.S. dollar index (DXY0) has started 2017 on a notable losing streak. The index’s clean close today below 100 is the latest confirmation of that weakness. The U.S. dollar index continued its dribbling down the lower part of Bollinger Bands (BBs) that define the current downtrend. Source: StockCharts.com This extension of weakness has complicated … Read more