The Gold Top Watch Continues With A Confirmation and A Caveat

Two days ago I defined and described the case for a blow-off top in SPDR Gold Shares (GLD). Speculators have provided a confirmation of a top, yet there is now a caveat based on GLD’s ability to comeback a bit on Friday (June 17th). After pulling back the reins for three weeks on net longs … Read more

May Was A Month of Discontent: Significant Shifts In Positions And Sentiment

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 31, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) At the beginning of this month, I claimed an unwind of confidently long positions was imminent for the Australian dollar. {snip} Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders {snip} Source: FreeStockCharts.com At … Read more

A Blow-Off Top for Gold? Not Quite Yet…

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on May 8, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) Speculators are now net long gold at levels that surpass the financial crisis of 2008/2009 and the major 2011 peak in gold prices. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders Given this … Read more

The Brexit Hedge Fails Its First Test

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on June 1, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) After London’s former mayor Boris Johnson first announced his support for Great Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU), aka “Brexit,” the British pound (FXB) sold off for the rest of … Read more

Japanese Yen: Maximum Bullishness Meets Maximum Search Interest – A Fever Ready to Break?

Traders remain very confident in the strength of the Japanese yen (FXY). Net longs stayed at “maximum bullishness” even ahead of last week’s monetary policy meeting by the Bank of Japan (BoJ). Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders That boldness paid off as the BoJ failed to deliver more easing, and the yen soared. USD/JPY … Read more

The Australian Dollar Sinks With An RBA Rate Cut – Time for A Big Unwind?

Last week, the Australian dollar (FXA) was slammed by poor inflation data. Market expectations for a rate cut strengthened significantly as well. This week, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) took heed and cut its cash rate from 2.0% to 1.75%. In its statement on the monetary policy decision, the RBA explained that its decision … Read more

The iShares Silver Trust Breaks Out On Maximum Bullishness

Last week’s report from the CFTC’s Commitments of Traders shows that speculators ramped up net longs on silver to levels unseen since at least 2008. I call this “maximum bullishness.” Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders Since June, 2014, the peaks in run-ups of net longs have generally trended higher and higher. Those buying sprees … Read more

The Canadian Dollar Rides Stronger Economic Signals – Can the Momentum Sustain?

(This is an excerpt from an article I originally published on Seeking Alpha on April 5, 2016. Click here to read the entire piece.) Canada’s GDP report for January, 2016 confirmed renewed strength in the Canadian economy. {snip} Source: Statistics Canada Now that the Canadian economy has apparently stabilized, the weakening in the Canadian dollar … Read more

The Bank of England Confirms Its Preference for A Weak British Pound

The Bank of England (BoE) released its latest pronouncement on monetary policy on April 14, 2016. As has been the case for what feels like forever now, the BoE kept policy the same with Bank rate at 0.5%, and it maintained the stock of purchased assets at £375 billion. The BoE concluded that the outlook … Read more

Forex Critical: Speculators Beat A Major Retreat from Bearishness on the British Pound

A bottom for the British pound just got more likely. The latest data from the CFTC shows that net speculators beat a major retreat from net short positions against the British pound: Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders The chart shows that speculators have not held such small net short positions since the surge began … Read more