As the VIX Plunges to All-Time Lows, Speculators Abort Their Seasonal Gold and Silver Rush

A month ago, I wrote about the near seasonal pattern of speculators accumulating net long contracts in gold and silver from July troughs to October peaks. THIS year, the speculators started up on schedule but aborted the mission as net longs peaked well ahead of October. Source: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders So seasonal patterns … Read more

A Wilting British Pound Reverses Gains from A Hawkish Bank of England

It looks like speculators flipped the script to go net long on the British pound (FXB) just in time to catch a peak. Source: FreeStockCharts.com As the chart above shows, GBP/USD just broke down below support at its 50-day moving average (DMA). The move looks like an exclamation point following the full reversal of the … Read more

Above the 40 (September 8, 2017) – Lingering Tensions for the Stock Market

AT40 = 44.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 48.9% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.1 (up 4.9%) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary The market has made no progress since my last Above the 40 post which covered the volatility and fizzle from … Read more

Above the 40 (August 29, 2017) – More Stock Market Volatility and Fizzle

AT40 = 37.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 46.7% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 11.7 (was as high as 14.3) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary North Korea launched a ballistic missile over northern Japan, bot no fire and fury ensued. What happened … Read more

Forex Critical: Putting The Mexican Peso and Canadian Dollar On Shorter Leashes

Currency speculators have not been this bullish on the Mexican peso in about four years. The Canadian dollar (FXC) has enjoyed such bullishness for a year longer. Source for charts: Oanda’s CFTC’s Commitments of Traders I have traded alongside these bulls for several months now, but I decided this week to pull in the reins … Read more

Silver Faces Down the First Test Of Its Latest Relief Rally

I clearly took profits on my relief rally trade in iShares Silver Trust (SLV) too early. Source: FreeStockCharts.com While SLV wrestles with resistance at its 50-day moving average (DMA), the silver ETF sits on top of a 7.3% gain since hitting a 15-month low three weeks ago. Given SLV was able to power through the … Read more

Above the 40 (July 26, 2017) – A Stock Market Floating Higher And Still On the Edge

AT40 = 63.6% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 60.3% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 9.6 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: cautiously bullish Commentary The stock market had a relatively bland day that matched a relatively bland statement on monetary policy from the … Read more

Gold and Silver Speculators In Full Retreat

A year ago, speculators accumulated net long contracts on gold that exceeded anything seen since at least 2008. Starting in late 2015, silver speculators set several such records with the latest set just three months ago. Now, speculators in gold and silver are in full retreat. Net longs seem headed for zero for both precious … Read more

Above the 40 (July 6, 2017) – A Stock Market Swivel

AT40 = 48.1% of stocks are trading above their respective 40-day moving averages (DMAs) AT200 = 55.4% of stocks are trading above their respective 200DMAs VIX = 12.5 (volatility index) Short-term Trading Call: neutral Commentary Diabolically, the stock market has put my head on the proverbial swivel. I earlier noted how the NASDAQ in particular … Read more

Forex Critical: The U.S. Dollar Finally Gets Relief – ISM Manufacturing to the Rescue

It was a holiday shortened trading day in the U.S., but it was enough time to deliver a bit of relief for the U.S. dollar index (DXY0). The most significant move for the U.S. dollar was against the ever-weakening Japanese yen (FXY). USD/JPY broke out and stayed above resistance at its uptrending 200-day moving average … Read more