African Nations No Longer Lead the World in Bitcoin

Google trends provides a measure of the popularity of Google search terms. The data can indicate relative popularity and interest in a topic. I use the search on “Bitcoin” as a trade indicator called the Google Trends Momentum Check (GTMC). During my checks on the GTMC, I noticed for quite some time the African nations … Read more

Cocoa: A Bear Market in Prices Brings Fresh Opportunity

Cocoa prices have plunged along with the pandemic-driven crash in global financial markets. The iPath Bloomberg Cocoa Subindex Total Return ETN (NIB) reached a closing peak on February 13th just ahead of the global pandemic crisis. Since then, NIB is down 23.8%, a bear market in cocoa. Per my buy-the-dip strategy in NIB, this is … Read more

Cocoa’s Price Surge Confirmed By Historic Supply Coordination

Two years ago, I wrote about the announcement from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) indicating that cocoa-growing countries would coordinate production of cocoa to better support their economies. That news was soon followed by a recommendation from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to cocoa producers to find ways to control the supply of cocoa. At … Read more

Cocoa: Ivory Coast Supply News Sets Up Buying Opportunity

Time for me to buy iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) again. NIB gapped down to start the week at least partially on the news of a surplus from the Ivory Coast. From Reuters: Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 1.547 million tonnes between Oct. 1 and March 3, exporters estimated … Read more

Cocoa Prices Drop On Optimism for the 2018/2019 Main Crop Season

The price of cocoa has been in near freefall again. The picture-perfect bounce for iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) from its support at 200-day moving average (DMA) reversed into a recent 200DMA breakdown and a convincing breakdown below the June low. Source: FreeStockCharts.com As usual, a flurry of news exists that helps explain at … Read more

A Fresh Top in Cocoa

It did not take long. Two days after I identified a Bollinger Band squeeze on iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB), the technical chart pattern resolved to the downside. NIB has lost 11.9% over this time. Source: FreeStockCharts.com At current levels, NIB has confirmed a top from its 19-month high: a breakdown below the 50-day … Read more

Another Bullish Breakout for Cocoa

On Friday, The iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) soared 3.0% to a 14-month high. It was a breakout the validated months and months of patience betting that in a market with strong demand, extremely low cocoa prices would create the conditions for higher prices in the future. While NIB has persistently rallied since the … Read more

A New Breakout for Cocoa as Ghana Falls Short

It was a welcome turn of fortune for iPath® Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB). In a week where global stock markets took a sharp tumble, NIB followed through on an important technical breakout. The week started ominously when NIB sold off and dove back below its 50 and 200-day moving averages (DMAs). After that setback, … Read more

Trading Cocoa: The September Confirmation Of A Bottom

Congratulations to any of you who stuck by the iPath Bloomberg Cocoa SubTR ETN (NIB) and accumulated over the course of 2017 as cocoa prices slowly but surely carved out a bottom. Looking back, it seems September was a key turning point in the flavor of the trading. Source: FreeStockCharts.com The chart above shows how … Read more